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Pushing the Limits

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Pushing the Limits GUEST PERSPECTIVE GUEST PERSPECTIVE Nitsch is now back to freediving, which PUSHING he says “feels like finally being back in the real world” again. To another at- tempt at his 1,000-foot goal, Nitsch THE LIMITS takes a “never say never” approach – which implies that he will try again. Freediver Herbert Nitsch In the moment when he is plunging dives to great depths – 2 1 down, his lungs demanding oxygen and without an oxygen tank. 1 Herbert Nitsch descends into the blue, aided by a all his human instincts inclined to agree, guiding wire – and his supporters on the surface. Nitsch needs to take control and har- 2 When freediving, preparation is everything. ness all his energy for the dive. “I focus Breathe in deeply. Hold it. See if you on the important things of the moment, can continue to hold it for nine minutes. and I try not to think about anything For most, not breathing for this amount else. I tune out any bodily sensations of time would simply be impossible. But “The mind is amazing in and use my energy solely to concen- for Herbert Nitsch, it’s entirely achiev- stimulating the body to trate on the essentials.” able. Nine minutes (and four seconds, Fittingly, preserving resources is to be precise) is his personal record for go beyond limits you first second nature to Nitsch. Without his static apnea – that is, holding a single believed were impossible.” extraordinary ability to do so, he breath underwater. couldn’t perform in his sport the way he But this breathtaking personal best Herbert Nitsch, freediver does. This belief extends beyond his is a modest achievement compared own physical resources: Nitsch is a with the other feats of which Nitsch has proud ocean conservationist, holding proven himself capable. More than a liters. Compare this with the lung ca- Since 2010, Nitsch has focused solely an advisory role with the Sea Shepherd decade of involvement in the sport of pacity of the average adult male, which on the extreme “No Limit” freediving Conservation Society. This environmen- freediving has seen the former pilot is six liters. This technique, paired with discipline. In No Limit dives, freedivers tal consciousness carries over into his hold over 30 world records in all eight special training to stretch the dia- use a weighted sled to descend as far everyday life in landlocked Austria: “I recognized freediving disciplines. phragm and lungs, helps to make the as they possibly can on a single breath. decided to get rid of the car, and I bike lungs more flexible so they can expand An air-filled balloon aids their return to everywhere in my home town of Vienna. Freediving is the sport – perhaps art to hold more air, and compress more the surface. Nitsch holds the current No And, I am currently in the process of – of diving underwater for extended pe- from pressure at depth, thus enabling Limit world record: an astonishing 214 designing a fast ocean-going eco-sail- riods of time without a breathing appa- his incredible breath-holding times. meters, for which he was dubbed “The ing boat that uses wind and solar pow- ratus, sustained only by the last breath For someone who has earned such Deepest Man on Earth.” His focus on er only, without a combustion engine.” you took before descending into the accolades in an ocean-based sport, it’s No Limit diving illuminates a single- It’s another remarkable pursuit from deep blue. surprising to learn that Nitsch is self- minded determination: his ultimate goal a man who refuses to treat apparent However, it’s not as simple as tak- trained, and hails from a landlocked of diving to 1,000 feet (304.8 meters). limits as insurmountable. “Freediving ing a huge, gasping breath and plung- country: Austria. To suit his circum- On 14 June 2012, when attempting taught me that as long as you keep be- ing below the surface. Nitsch explains stances, says Nitsch, “I figured I need- to reach this goal, Nitsch almost didn’t lieving things are possible, they are. The how he prepares to go underwater: “It ed a different and more efficient ap- emerge from the blue. A blackout in the body is amazing in what it can do, and helps to try to relax every muscle, and proach to training. Where some other depths led to his suffering a severe form the mind is amazing in stimulating the be in a very calm, almost sleep-like elite freedivers had the advantage of of decompression sickness, known as body to go beyond limits you first be- state,” he says. “I try to take more air in training regularly in the ocean, I came Type II DCS. That day, Nitsch reached lieved were impossible.” // my lungs by ‘packing.’ This is a tech- 3 up with a combination of breath-hold 253.2 meters (830.8 feet). However, nique whereby the epiglottis acts as a training on the couch at home, com- because the accident forced him to piston to push more air in the lungs.” bined with cardio and muscular train- abort the dive, his record attempt was With this technique, Nitsch can expand ing.” When competing, Nitsch arrives not officially recognized. His existing re- For videos and more on his own lung capacity from an already early and goes “spearfishing and fun cord still stands, yet to be equaled or freediver Herbert Nitsch, visit amazing 10 liters to an impressive 15 freediving” in the sea to prepare. broken. Following a hard-won recovery, www.herbertnitsch.com 44 | HyPower 2014 HyPower 2014 | 45.
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